1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a cleaning trolley or cart for collecting and carrying containers and utensils for cleaning, supply and disposal purposes, and more particularly to such cleaning trolleys or carts that also provide for the fractionated disposal of waste and reusable materials, and for the restocking of consumables.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The design and construction of corresponding trolleys has been the subject of numerous strutosals. The more extensive the program to be handled by these trolleys, the more voluminous the trolleys generally are and the less accessible without mutual interference the individual utensils and containers are.
A cleaning trolley of the type in question is known from DE 94 02 552 U1. The advantage of this cleaning trolley lies in the horizontally and vertically offset arrangement of the carrier elements which enables the containers to be arranged in a cascade on the carrier elements. However, the volume that can be accommodated and transported is very small and the space available under the higher container is not used. In addition, the design-related installation of a press is too high both for static reasons and for ergonomic reasons. Another disadvantage is that the dirty water bucket has to be arranged over the clean water bucket so that dirtying of the clean water by water dripping from the dirty water bucket or the mop is unavoidable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning trolley or cart that is capable of accommodating a large number of containers and utensils necessary for cleaning purposes, arranged in a manner which substantially eliminates the risk of dirty areas contaminating clean areas, and allows reusable materials intended for disposal as waste to be accommodated or at the same time separated into fractions according to type. In one embodiment of the invention, the aforesaid object and others are provided by a cleaning trolley or cart including a base plate substantially rigidly attached to a base frame, with carrier elements configured as trays designed to be suspended in a cascade in a step-like support frame mounted on the base frame, with space for accommodating further containers being available between the suspended trays and the base plate.
The present stepped and strutted cleaning trolley enables the available space to be optimally utilized and the areas on and beneath the trays to be systematically separated, for example into dirty and clean sectors, while remaining readily accessible. In addition, the suspended trays make it possiblexe2x80x94by leaving out trays at the corresponding location between struts of the support framexe2x80x94to fill the entire space through to the base plate with items of equipment or utensils which have a corresponding vertical dimension. In another embodiment, a container can be placed on the base plate in front of the support frame, to accommodate a tank for wash liquor at that location without any danger of other areas being soiled by dripping water.
In yet another embodiment, a stretching frame with clips for holding at least one refuse sack is provided below a tray suspended from the higher steps of the step-like support frame so that the greater space available at this location can also be used to accommodate voluminous materials to be disposed of as waste. Refuse sacks are particularly suitable for carrying waste paper and soiled light textiles. The spaces below the trays suspended in lower positions are particularly suitable for accommodating shallower containers graduated correspondingly for general waste, waste glass or biological waste which experience has shown to accumulate in relatively small quantities. It is preferred that the various types of waste or soiled materials be kept separated into fractions according to type so that they may be subjected to appropriate treatment or reused.
In one particular embodiment, the support frame has a modular construction. The support frames form modules with two step elements on either side, the modules each consisting of a horizontal strut and a vertical strut which is directed downwards at a right angle at the front end of the horizontal strut. In addition, another two vertical struts are provided per step and form the supporting connection between the rear end of the horizontal struts of each step and the base frame below the base plate. Push-in/screw connections are provided at the ends of all struts so that the step elements and the additional vertical struts can readily be put together and assembled according to the requirements of the particular application. The additional vertical struts are only mounted as a supporting connection on the base plate between the rear end of the uppermost step and the front end of the lower step. It is only when particularly heavy items are carried in the trays that the additional vertical struts need to be mounted under those trays as well. With normal loads, the omission of these vertical struts between the frontmost and rearmost areas affords the advantage of better accessibility of the containers located beneath the trays.
In another embodiment, transverse struts are provided at least partly between the comers of the two-sided steps and between the rear vertical struts. Their function is to stabilize the support frame construction and to form a rest for edges at the longitudinal sides of the trays and, for example, for suspending a rear suspended container. The modular construction of the support frame permits the step to form stable and easy-to-handle modules.
In one particular embodiment, the support frame is higher on one side than on the other side. The trays may be designed in such a way that their side walls extend vertically and their base parallel to the connecting plane of the two opposite steps of the support frame. By virtue of this design, the trays are easy to see and handle from the side of the lower support frame. In addition, it is easy for the person in charge of the trolley to remember that this lower side is the operative side for the xe2x80x9cclean sectorxe2x80x9d of the cleaning trolley, i.e. offers accommodation for new or cleaned items of equipment or utensils and is suitable for carrying cleaning solutions for vertical surfaces and sanitary areas in the trays.
In another embodiment, hinges about which flaps pivot are arranged on the lower side of the support frame below the suspended trays, to emphasize the separation of the clean sector and the dirty sector. The flaps can only be operated from the side opposite the hinges. Accordingly, the person in charge of the trolley can only lift these flaps from the side with the higher support frame so that the waste material can be thrown into the containers covered by the flaps. If the hinges are arranged in such a way that their pivot axis lies laterally below the support frame and vertically just below the lowest point of the corresponding tray, the pivotability of the flap by at least twice the height difference between the sides of the support frame means that the containers and/or stretching frame arranged below the trays must slant towards the higher side of the support frame by at least the same amount as the trays do in the opposite direction. This also ensures that the containers standing on the base plate and the refuse sacks fixed to the stretching frame are easy to see and readily accessible. The releasable fixing of the flaps in the lowermost position by a locking mechanism advantageously prevents unintentional lifting of the flaps or any further downward movement of the flaps in the absence of a container.
One embodiment in which the base frame and the base plate taper frontwards and have a recess in the rear middle section enables the a plurality of cleaning trolleys to be partly pushed into one another from behind. To this end, the dimensions of the recess must be such that the front part of the cleaning trolley to be pushed in from behind fits into this recess as far as the trolleys are to be pushed into one another. It is preferred in this regard to continue the recess longitudinally as far as stretching frames for hanging refuse sacks are arranged under the steps because, in this region, the base plate is normally not needed for removing containers. This has the additional advantage that it is relatively easy to do when empty refuse sacks are hung up because the refuse sacks can be pushed forwards by the cleaning trolley pushed in without stopping the trolleys from being pushed into one another.
If the wheels are end castor wheels, with at least one front wheel being lower than the two rear wheels, this has the advantage that the center of gravity of the cleaning trolley lies safely between the wheels and the base frame and base plate are inclined forwards. This embodiment affords the advantage so far as the xe2x80x9cinterengagingxe2x80x9d of the cleaning trolleys is concerned that the base plate of the rear trolley is located below the base plate of the front trolley, and the recess needs to be as wide as the front vertical struts of the support frame project sideways from one another. The choice of castors affords the additional advantage of providing the cleaning trolley with very good maneuverability. The provision of guide handles on both sides of the suspended container on the rear vertical struts promotes safe control of the cleaning trolley by the person in charge. The provision of a holder for a cleaning utensil designed to be placed in the front container enables the utensil to be positioned in the desired most readily accessible location.